Of the 4,000 food trucks with permits in Los Angeles County, “probably 3,500 are Mexican style,” says Josh Hiller, co-owner of Road Stoves, which rents trucks and provides other services to mobile chefs. At the same time, white-tablecloth eateries also suffered, and “a lot of fine-dining chefs were looking for their next move. “We saw a lot of the old taco trucks go belly up in the economic downturn,” he says. The recent recession is a major reason the food truck culture took root and grew, says restaurant industry veteran Ray Villaman, a principal with Mobi Munch, a mobile foodservice infrastructure company. Featuring a refrigerator case, warmer unit, and griddle, they regularly visit several blue-collar workplaces a day, serving sandwiches, pastries, and similar items.Īs Hispanic construction workers grew in numbers in California in the ’80s, entrepreneurs refitted trucks to create moving taquerias, known as taco trucks.īut a new breed of chef-impresario has now found a niche for various gourmet efforts from a truck. “It’s been great for the industry and an easy way for customers to come out and try all different types of great food,” says Crystal Ramirez, the company’s manager.Ī typical evening may see a chorizo and sirloin burger from Latin Burger and Taco, Jefe’s fish tacos, crêpes from Caza Crêpes, and Big Daddy’s discos voladores.įood trucks have their roots in moving military canteens, Old West chuck wagons, New York City food carts, and street vendors worldwide.Ĭatering trucks have traveled the pavement for decades. In Miami, truck maker Food Cart USA promotes these events several days a week. In a few cities, food trucks gather at one spot for a temporary food court. For customers, it’s more like an adventure because of ever-changing menus and ever-changing locations.” “They aren’t going to have a marketing budget. “Truck owners really have to do social networking,” Giandelone says. It also builds the kind of relationships that leads some chefs to name menu items after customers or customers’ pets. Twitter and Facebook are key to food trucks’ success, helping followers find out the trucks’ location on any particular date, as well as the day’s menu. Then these items filter out to other chefs because “we’re really good at ripping off ideas and making them our own.”
“You find people with a strong passion and the skill to make two or three or four things really, really well,” Higar says. Unlike brick-and-mortar restaurants that have large menus, food trucks have become popular, particularly among 25- to 45-year-olds, for their distinct, limited offerings. He recently spent three months crisscrossing the nation and talking to food truck operators who typically set up shop at different locations each day.
“This is going on all across the country,” says Kevin Higar, director of consulting and research for Technomic Inc. The growing interest in the segment has created even more cross-pollination: truck chefs opening brick-and-mortar units, restaurants adding street foods to menus, and, in some cases, developing whole concepts around street food. Restaurants and quick-service chains have joined the fray with their own trucks. Owners also have more control over how they can operate.” “They have huge appeal because they are an inexpensive way to get into the food industry. “They’re popping up everywhere,” says Eric Giandelone, director of foodservice research at Mintel International. Whether they’re parked along the streets of Los Angeles, in a Miami shopping center, or at a Chicago corporate highrise, the trucks are as trendy as it gets in the restaurant business.įolks are lining up at mobile counters in cities across America to gobble down everything from gourmet fusion food to specialty cupcakes from chef-entrepreneurs.
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